Combined side-delivery hay rake and tedder.



J. MAUPHAIL.

COMBINED SIDE DELIVERY HAY RAKE. AND TEDDEB. APPLICATION TILED FEB. 1, 1913.

1,087,541 I Patented Feb. 17,1914..

COLUMBIA PL'ANuuRAPl-x C0 WASHINGTON. D. c.

JAMES MACPHAIL, OF DAVENPORT, IOWA, ASSIGNOR TO DAIN MANUFACTURING COMPANY OF IOWA, OF OTTUMW'A, IOWA, A CORPORATION OF IOWA.

COMBINED SIDE-DELIVERY HAY RAKE AND TEDDER.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that 1, JAMES MACPHAIL, a citizen of the United States, residing at Davenport, in the county of Scott, in the State of Iowa, have invented new and useful Improvements in Combined Side-Delivery Hay Rakes and Tedders, of which the following is a specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawing.

This invention relates to improvements in that class of hay-making machines in which the operating forks are of the kicking type. As ordinarily constructed machines of this general character have been either of the kind wherein the crank-shaft with which all of the forks are connected has been bodily reversible end for end together with the forks, or of the kind wherein the several forks have been separately removed and secured in reverse position.

The leading object of my invention is to provide a construction that will not necessitate either of these operations in changing the machine to adapt it for either a rake or a tedder but, by the mechanism shown and described, will permit each fork-head to be readily and easily shifted into the required position to adapt the teeth carried thereby to be properly presented to the hay according to the use to which the machine is to be put, and when so shifted to be securely held. I accomplish this by the means shown in the drawings and hereinafter specifically described.

Those things that I believe to be novel and of my invention will be set forth in the claims.

In the drawings, Figure l is a rear elevation of a fork and attached parts adapted for use with a m ach-ine of the class described and provided with my improvements; Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the devices shown in Fig. l wit-h the fork adjusted so as to properly position the teeth for one of the uses of the machine; and Fig. 3 is a similar view but showing the fork in its other position so as to properly present the teeth when the machine is to be put to its other specified use.

Inasmuch as machines capable of performing the two functions mentioned are well known and inasmuch as my improve ments pertain solely to the fork members I have not deemed it necessary to illustrate a complete machine, for it will be under- Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed February 1, 1913.

Patented Feb. 17, 1914:-

Serial No. 745,570.

stood that my improvements are adapted to numerous makes of machines employing any of the various driving mechanisms through which the crank-shaft that carriesthe forkarms is rotated. 7

Referring to the several figures of the drawings, 5 indicates a fork-arm, as many of such arms, and the parts carried thereby, being provided as required. The various arms are to be mounted at intervals, as usual, on a suitable crank-shaft, and at 6 is shown a bearin in which a crank portion of such a crank-shaft is journaled. The hearing as shown has attaching plates formed with it which lie against the face of the arm and are held by suitable clips to the arm, and the lower end of the lower attaching plate is formed with a lip 7 for a purpose hereinafter mentioned.

Sindicates a link that connects the upper end of the fork-arm 5 with a fixed portion of the frame of the machine, as usual, and acts to control the sweep of the teeth of the fork as the fork-arm rotates with the crankshaft.

9 indicates the fork-head and 10 the teeth carried thereby, the teeth as usual being of heavy spring wire which is coiledaround the head, whereby the teeth can yield to some extent in case an obstruction is encountered.

11 indicates suitable clips for attaching the teeth to the head.

12 indicates a yoke provided with a socket portion 13 rising from the central portion thereof into which projects the lower end of the fork-arm 5 where it is suitably secured. The free downwardly-extending ends of the yoke terminate in bearings 14 throughwhich the fork-head 9passes and in which bean ings said head can rock.

15 indicates a bell-crank or bent lever rigidly secured to the fork-head 9 and projecting to the front and rearthereof. As shown in Fig. 1 this bent lever is attached at substantially the center of said head and its members are turned so as to bring their ends at one side of the yoke 12 so as to permit the proper attachment thereto of certain devices about to be described that are arranged at one side of and carried by the fork arm,

16 indicates a bail connecting the two arms or members of the bent lever 15, the bail being provided in each upper corner with a recess or loop portion 17 and 17 respectively, in which is adapted to rest an eye on the lower end of a. rod 18, the upper end of which rod is connected to a coiled contractile spring 19 which is attached in any suitable manner to the upper end of the forkarm 5. Each arm or member of the bent lever 15 is shown as being provided with a small projection indicated by 20 and 20, respectively, which acts as a stop to limit the movement of the bent lever as hereinafter described.

21 indicates a bracing member, preferably composed of a heavy wire, whose ends are suitably attached to the ends of the forkhead 9 and whose central portion lies between the lip 7 hereinbefore referred to and the face of the forkarm.

In operation, with the parts as shown in Fig. 2which position may be assumed as that taken by the parts when the machine is used as a rakethe tension of the coiled spring 19 will hold the rod 18 firmly engaged with the recess or loop 17 at one corner of the bail 16 and will keep that arm or member of the bent lever 15 that carries the projection 20 pulled up with that projection bearing firmly as a stop against the yoke 12. The pull thus exerted is, in effect, as if the rod 18 were directly and solely connected to that underlying arm of the bent lever through the medium of a short link with a hook at its upper end to engage the eye. Providing the connection in the form of the bail, however, insures freedom from any liability of accidental disengagement of the parts, and also provides a much easier and quicker means of shifting the connecting rod from one position to the other as the eye on the lower end of the rod 18 after being disengaged from one of the loops 17, 17 can be easily slid along the cross-bar portion of the bail to the other loop. If any individual tooth of the fork comes in contact with a small obstruction it can yield by reason of its own resiliency, but in case of a larger obstruction being encountered by the fork the fork as a whole can yield, the head thereof turning as required in its bearings 14 at the ends of the yoke 12 and, of course, through the bail 16 and rod 18 increasing the tension on the spring 19. Instantly upon such such obstruction being passed the spring will return the fork to operative position and the pull that it exerts will hold such fork in operative raking position, the stop 20 then bearing firmly against the face of the yoke. It will be observed that the rod 18 is somewhat bent or curved so that when the parts are in the position shown in Fig. 2 it will not come in contact with the crankshaft bearing 6, which bearing. as shown in Fig. 1, projects beyond the sides of the fork-arm. When it is desired to shift the fork so that its teeth will stand reversely inclined to the position that they have been in for use as a rake,-that is to change the inclination from that shown in Fi g. 2 to that shown in Fig. 3-the connecting rod 18 or the lower portion of the spring 19 is to be grasped with the hand and the spring extended, thus loosening the connection of the said rod with the loop portion 17 of the bail 16. The eye at the lower end of the connecting rod is then to be moved along the bail until it rests in the loop portion 17 thereof at the other side of the bail. The spring is then permitted to contract and its force, transmitted through the rod and hail, will rock the bent lever and the fork-head that it is connected to, such rocking movement continuing until the stop 20 is brought against the face of the yoke. The fork will then be held exactly to the same extent as it was before the shifting of the eye of the rod from the loop 17 to the loop 17, and the teeth of the fork will be in proper position for the machine to be employed as a tedder.

By my invention I provide a construction that is cheap, simple and effective in en abling a machine of this type to be quickly converted from. a rake to a tedder and vice versa, and one very great advantage over any construction known to me resides in the fact that the machine is convertible from one of the specified uses to the other without having to loosen any bolts or use a wrench or any other tool.

What I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent is,

1. In a machine of the class described, the combination with a fork-arm and a fork j ournaled at the lower end of said arm and adapted to be rocked to present its teeth in two different operative positions, of means for holding the fork in either of its said positions.

2. In a machine of the class described, the combination with a fork-arm and a fork journaled at the lower end of said arm and adapted to be rocked to present its teeth in two different operative positions, of means for yieldingly holding the fork in either of its said positions.

3. In a machine of the class described, the combination with a fork-arm and a fork journaled at the lower end of said arm, of a lever secured to said fork and projecting in front and rear thereof, and means carried by the fork-arm adapted to be adjusted over and connected with either end of said lever to hold the fork in operative position.

4-. In a machine of the class described, the combination with a fork-arm and a fork journaled at the lower end of said arm, of a lever secured to said fork and projecting in front and rear thereof, and means carried by the forkarm adapted to be adjusted over and connected with either end of said lever and exert an upward pull thereon to hold the fork in operative position.

5. In a machine of the class described, the combination with a fork-arm and a fork j ournaled at the lower end of said arm, of a lever secured to said fork and projecting in front and rear thereof, and spring-actuated means carried by the fork-arm adapted to be adjusted over and connected with either end of said lever and exert an upward pull thereon to hold the fork in operative position.

6. In a machine of the class described, the combination with a fork-arm and a fork journaled at the lower endof said arm, of a lever secured to said fork and projecting in front and rear thereof and having its ends turned to project beyond one of the sides of said arm, and means arranged opposite the side of the said arm adapted to be adjusted over and connected with either end of said lever and exert an upward pull thereon to hold the fork in operative position.

7. In a machine of the class described, the combination with a fork-arm and a fork journaled at the lower end of said arm, of a lever secured to said fork and projecting in front and rear thereof, a device connecting the ends of said lever, and fork-locking means carried by the fork-arm and connected with and adjustable along said connecting device to lie over either end of said lever.

8. In a machine of the class described, the combination with a fork-arm and a fork journaled at the lower end of said arm, of a lever secured to said fork and projecting in front and rear thereof, a bail connecting the ends of said lever, said bail having a loop formed at opposite sides thereof, and

fork-locking means carried by the fork-arm and movably connected with said bail and adapted to engage in either of said loops.

9. In a machine of the class described, the combination with a fork-arm and a yoke attached to the lower end of said arm, of a fork-head j ournaled in the ends of said yoke and having teeth attached thereto, a lever secured to said fork-head and projecting at bot-h sides of said head, each arm or member of said lever having a stop adapted to contact with the yoke to limit the extent to which said fork-head can be turned, and adjustable means carried by the fork-arm adapted to be moved over and connected with either end of said lever and exert an upward pull thereon to hold the fork in operative position.

10. In a machine of the class described, the combination with a fork arm and a fork adjustably connected therewith, of a bail connected with the fork and arranged transversely of the head thereof, and means carried by the fork-arm and movably connected with said bail and adapted to hold the fork in operative positions.

11. In a machine of the class described, the combination with a fork-arm and a fork adjustably connected therewith, of a bail connected with the fork and arranged transversely of the head thereof, said bail having a loop formed at opposite sides thereof, and means carried by the fork-arm and movably connected with said bail and adapted to engage in either of said loops to hold the fork in an operative position.

JAMES MACPHAIL.

Witnesses:

J. D. BROWNING, L. R. CLAUSEN.

Copies 01' this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, I). G. 

